Return of condor heroes, p.112
Return of Condor Heroes, page 112
Guo Jing was shocked and said, “Why aren’t the guards letting them into the city?” He galloped towards the city and saw a line of archers with their bows armed pointing at the refugees.
Guo Jing called out, “What are you doing? Quickly open the gates.”
When the guards saw that it was Guo Jing, they quickly opened the gates and let him and Yang Guo in.
Guo Jing said, “These people are being persecuted by the Mongolians, why aren’t you letting them in?”
The general guarding the gates said, “General Lu said that spies have hidden themselves amongst the refugees; we cannot let them in for that reason.”
Guo Jing shouted, “Even if there are one or two spies, how can we show no regard for these hundreds of lives? Quickly open the gates.”
Guo Jing has been guarding the city for a long time now and had many great achievements; though he did not have an official post, the general guarding the city did not dare to disobey his orders and opened the city gates. At the same time, he ordered a messenger to report this to Lu Wende.
Old and young all converged on the city. Suddenly, a dust cloud appeared far away; the Mongolian army was moving in from the north. The Song soldiers scattered and went back inside the walls of the city. A large group of people stood out in front of the oncoming enemy; they were all clothed in rags and all had a stick in their hands, none had a real weapon and they were scattered. They called out, “Don’t shoot arrows here; we’re Song citizens as well!”
The Mongolian army however sheltered themselves behind the refugees.
Ever since the times of Ji Si Khan, whenever the Mongolian army attacked a city, they would first send the citizens of the surrounding country towards the city they were attacking. If the soldiers who were guarding the city weakened their resolve at this sight, the Mongols would immediately come forward and attack. By using this method, the Mongolian army was able to slaughter the citizens of the nation they were attacking and defeat their opposition in the city, killing two birds with one stone. It was extremely brutal and cruel but effective.
Guo Jing had been with Mongolian army a long time and knew about this tactic, but there was nothing he could do to counter it. The Mongolian soldiers held the spears and long sabers to the front as they forced the citizens of the Song forward. The people were forced closer and closer and the people closest the city began to climb up the ladders.
Lu Wende rode his horse and took a look around at what was happening. When he saw the urgent situation they were in he immediately ordered, “Defending the city is the main priority, fire the arrows!”
Arrows rained down and many people were struck. Those who weren’t fell back. The Mongolian army chopped heads with their sabers and pierced bodies with the spears and the refugees were forced back towards the city.
Yang Guo stood next to Guo Jing and watched this tragic scene in anger.
Lu Wende called out, “Fire the arrows!” Arrows rained down once more.
Guo Jing shouted, “Stop, you can’t kill good people!”
Lu Wende said, “In such an urgent situation, even if it is a good person, we have to kill them.”
Guo Jing shouted, “No, how can you kill good people wrongly?”
Yang Guo’s heart trembled, “You can’t kill good people wrongly! How can you kill good people wrongly?”
Guo Jing called out, “My Beggar Clan brothers and my Wulin friends follow me!” He then rushed down towards the city gates. Yang Guo followed him.
Guo Jing said, “You suffered an injury when practicing chi last night; you cannot exert any kind of strength today. Go back to the city wall and watch what’s happening.”
Yang Guo saw his fellow Han being treated worse than animals by the Mongolian army and wanted to go down with Guo Jing and do some killing. He was startled when he heard this but he couldn’t tell Guo Jing that last night was just an act; so he returned back up the city wall.
Guo Jing led a group of people and opened the western gate. They rushed out and attacked the Mongolian flank. The Mongolian troops who were forcing the refugees forward turned towards Guo Jing.
The people Guo Jing was leading were good fighters of the Beggar Clan and patriots that had been gathered from all over China. They shouted and attacked; over a hundred Mongolian soldiers were immediately forced off their horses. The Mongolian army saw that their thousand soldiers were not able to fend them off and so another thousand came forward from the side. The Mongolian soldiers were all experienced, brave and vicious; though the group Guo Jing was leading knew martial arts, they were not able to subdue the Mongolians for the time being. When the refugees saw that the Mongolian soldiers were not pushing them forward any longer, they scattered.
A horn blew from the east and two Minghan regiments (division of 1000 men) surged forward. Another two Minghan regiments from the west dashed forward and surrounded Guo Jing and his group.
Lu Wende was scared witless when he saw the might of the Mongolian army; how would he dare to send men out for a rescue?
Yang Guo stood at the top of the city walls and kept on going over what Guo Jing had said, “You can’t kill good people wrongly! How can you kill good people wrongly?” When he saw Guo Jing surrounded he thought, “All the guards had to do was to let some arrows fly and kill a few people and they would have been able to stop this Mongolian attack. The reason Uncle Guo is in all this danger is because he didn’t want to kill good people wrongly. He doesn’t know these people yet he risks his life to save them; why did he want to kill my father?”
He saw the tragic killing below but all he could think about was this riddle; “He and my father were sworn brothers; this isn’t any ordinary kind of relationship, but in the end he still wanted to harm him. Could it be that my father was an evil person?” Ever since he was little he had always thought of his father as someone who was chivalrous, brave and heroic; one of the greatest men on earth. To acknowledge that his father was an evil person was something that he could not do. But in his heart, he had the feeling that his father could not compare to his Uncle Guo; but whenever he had this feeling, he forced it back down. Right now however, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about this point.
The cries below the city walls were ear shattering. Guo Jing and his group dashed left and surged right but they still were unable to break out. Zhu Ziliu led a group of men and the Wu brothers and Guo Fu led another to save them; but the Mongolian horn was blown once again and another four Minghan units surged forward to the city gates. Khubilai was indeed skilled in warfare. If the city gates opened to save Guo Jing and the others, the four divisions would break into the city.
Lu Wende was shocked senseless now and ordered, “Do not open the city gates!” Two hundred men who were ordered to guard the gates were told to kill anyone daring to try to open the gates. General Wang led a group of archers at the top of the city walls and they fired their arrows incessantly.
Chaos ruled both outside and inside the city while Yang Guo’s mind was in the same state; sometimes he wished that Guo Jing would perish in this battle, while at others, he wished that Guo Jing would be able to drive the enemy back.
Suddenly, the formation of the Mongolian soldiers was broken up; thousands of mounted soldiers collapsed back to the sides as though the tides swept them. Guo Jing galloped ahead with a long spear in his hands. The Han behind him formed a tight formation and they surged forward. They managed to get to the city gates. Guo Jing turned his steed around and went to defend the back of the group. His long spear knocked seven or eight Mongolian Generals off their steeds. The Mongolian soldiers stopped pressing for the time being.
Lu Wende relied on Guo Jing heavily and when he saw him escape danger he was ecstatic; he quickly called out, “Open the gates! But only a little, don’t open the gates too wide!”
The city gates opened three or four feet and just allowed one rider in at a time. All the men returned to the city. The yellow flag of the Mongolian army was waved and two divisions of soldiers on horseback charged forward from both sides.
Lu Wende called out, “Brother Guo Jing, quickly get back into the city! We can’t wait for the others.”
How could Guo Jing enter the city while he still had men outside? He turned his horse back and killed two Mongolian soldiers that had ridden up to him.
But once the army was in motion, they moved like the waves of the sea. Guo Jing was skilled in martial arts, but how could one person defend against the attack of a large army?
Zhu Ziliu saw the situation was urgent and quickly lowered down a rope. He called out, “Brother Guo, grab it.”
Guo Jing turned his head and saw the final Beggar Clan member had entered the city but he was followed by ten Mongolian soldiers. The guards at the gates fought them off and began closing the city gates. The two foot thick metal gate slowly closed. Guo Jing shouted and killed an Arban Chief with his spear before leaping up to take the rope. Zhu Ziliu pulled up with all his strength and Guo Jing rose up ten feet.
The Noyan who was supervising the troops ordered, “Arrows!” Immediately, a thousand bows released their arrows. Guo Jing was prepared for this. He tore off the lower part of his gown and swung it in front of his body with his left hand like a shield while he kept hold of the rope with his right hand. The gown was unyielding and blocked off all the arrows; but the steed that he had left behind outside the city walls was killed by the raining arrows. Zhu Ziliu pulled with both hands and pulled Guo Jing up higher and higher.
Guo Jing was around twenty feet away from the top of the city wall when a tall skinny monk appeared amongst the Mongolian army. He was wearing a yellow Buddhist gown; it was none other than Jinlun Fawang. He took a bow from one of the Mongolian soldiers and raised it. He knew that Guo Jing and Zhu Ziliu’s martial arts were high and would be able to avoid any arrows he shot at them so instead he aimed for the rope. It was a vicious move. The arrow was ten feet away from both Guo Jing and Zhu Ziliu; the two had no way to stop this arrow. Jinlun Fawang was afraid that the two might come up with a way to stop this arrow so he fired two more arrows, one at Guo Jing and the other at Zhu Ziliu. The first arrow severed the rope while the second and third arrow headed for Guo Jing and Zhu Ziliu with great force.
When the rope severed, Guo Jing dropped and the arrow aimed at him missed. Zhu Ziliu felt the weight in his hand lessen and called out; “Oh no!” The arrow had arrived. It was a very forceful arrow; the person who fired it must have very profound internal energy. The top of the city walls were filled with people, if Zhu Ziliu lowered his head to avoid this arrow, someone behind might be injured. So he stretched out the second finger on his left hand and touched the stem of the arrow, diverting it back down the city wall.
Guo Jing was slightly alarmed when he felt the rope part; though he won’t be injured by the fall, he would be surrounded by thousands and thousands of soldiers. How could he fight his way out of that? The Mongol army is right next to the city gate now; if my side opens it to let me in, the Mongols would definitely take the opportunity to push through. There was no time to think in this danger; his left foot flicked up against the wall and he flew up over ten feet. His right foot followed and he rose up another ten feet. Very few people were proficient in this “Stairs to Heaven” technique. Even those who were well versed in it could only manage two or three feet per step; but on this slippery wall, each step of Guo Jing’s took him over ten feet. Guo Jing’s martial arts were frighteningly good. Silence broke out on the battlefield as everyone fixed their eyes on him.
Jinlun Fawang was slightly startled when he saw this. However, he knew that when one uses the “Stairs to Heaven”, they must make their leap in one breath. If Fawang could distract him and disturb his breathing then Guo Jing would not be able to make his third step, so Fawang raised his bow again and shot an arrow towards Guo Jing’s back.
The arrow flew like the wind. Shouts of, “No arrows!” were heard from soldiers from both the top of the city walls and down below. Both sides saw the terrifyingly good skills of Guo Jing and were in awe; they all hoped that he would make it. The Mongolians were the enemy but had much respect for great heroes and great men, they were all furious when they saw someone had fired an arrow at Guo Jing.
Guo Jing knew that the arrow behind him had a tremendous force behind it. He called out in alarm, “Not now!” He had to use his hand to deflect it away. Both sides cheered when they saw that the arrow failed to hit him. But with this earth shattering noise, Guo Jing was falling back down the city wall. There were only a few feet to the top of the city wall but Guo Jing had no way to climb up it.
When the two sides were fighting, the same was happening within Yang Guo’s heart. In the short space of time that Guo Jing climbed up, dropped down, climbed up and dropped down again, Yang Guo’s mind repeatedly went over, “He killed my father, should I kill him or not, or should I save him or not?”
When Guo Jing was using the “Stairs to Heaven” technique, Yang Guo had thought about throwing out a palm at Guo Jing. Guo Jing was in midair and had nothing to support himself with; he would definitely suffer a serious injury and fall back down from the city wall.
But as he was hesitating, Fawang had already fired an arrow at Guo Jing that stopped him from coming up. Yang Guo’s mind was in confusion. Suddenly, he grabbed the severed rope in Zhu Ziliu’s hand with his left hand and leapt down from the city wall towards Guo Jing, grabbing Guo Jing’s arm with his right hand.
This was a move out of the blue but Zhu Ziliu responded with great speed. He first lowered the rope down slightly before gathering strength into his arms and urgently pulled the rope upwards. Yang Guo and Guo Jing arced in circle like two large birds flying in the sky. The soldiers on both sides watched with their mouths open.
When Guo Jing was in midair he thought, wouldn’t it mean he had lost in this exchange if he doesn’t reply to this sneak attack by this evil monk? He saw Fawang had fired another arrow. As soon as his left foot touched the top of the city wall he immediately grabbed a bow from one of the guards and fired an arrow of his own towards Fawang’s arrow. The arrows collided in midair and Fawang’s arrow was split into two. Fawang was stunned. Suddenly, a fierce gust arrived; a ‘zheng’ sound was heard as the metal bow in his hands snapped in two.
Though Guo Jing’s and Fawang’s martial arts were within a hairsbreadth of each other, Guo Jing’s archery skills were unsurpassed. He had learned archery from one of the greatest Mongolian archers, Zhe Bie (Jebeh), when he was young and his internal energy was profound – when it came to archery, Fawang lost out.
Guo Jing had fired three arrows; the first divided Fawang’s arrow, the second snapped Fawang’s bow and the third was fired towards Khubilai’s flag.
Khubilai’s flag had fluttered in the wind gloriously amongst the thousands of soldiers, but now it had fallen. Soldiers from both sides shouted and hollered.
Khubilai saw his army’s morale drop after Guo Jing’s display and immediately ordered his men back.
Guo Jing stood at the top of the city wall and watched the Mongolians retreat. They were marching back in formation and in line; those who were at the front didn’t rush and those who were at the back showed no fear. He couldn’t stop himself from sighing and thinking, “Our weak Song army cannot compete with the great Mongolian army.” He frowned as he worried about the fate of his nation.
Zhu Ziliu, Yang Guo and the others were in awe of Guo Jing when they saw that he had no signs of pride of his face even after displaying his might in front of thousands.
Khubilai pulled his men back tens of miles and then started to think of a plan to take the city. With Guo Jing at the helm, it would be difficult to take it.
Fawang said, “Your highness saw for yourself; if it weren’t for Yang Guo, Guo Jing would be dead now. I knew that Yang Guo was not a man of his word.”
Khubilai said, “No! I think it’s because he wants to Guo Jing to die by his own hands and not at the hands of others. He appears to be a brave and valiant man; he is not a conniving fellow.”
Fawang didn’t agree but he didn’t dare to answer back, he just said, “Hopefully your highness is correct.”
Xiangyang city was safe now that the Mongolian army had pulled back. Lu Wende was delighted and threw another banquet to celebrate it. This time, Yang Guo was also invited.
Everyone praised him for his swift and life risking actions in saving Guo Jing. The Wu brothers sat at another table and were filled with jealousy. Yang Guo had made a great achievement immediately after arriving at Xiangyang. They were also afraid that after this event, Guo Jing would again insist on betrothing his daughter to Yang Guo. The brothers didn’t say a word and just sat there, drinking wine.
Everyone returned to the Guo residence when the banquet finished. Huang Rong invited Yang Guo into the inner halls and praised him. Yang Guo replied with modest words.
Guo Jing said, “Guo’er, you’ve just exerted a fierce force, does your chest hurt?” Guo Jing was worried that by using unrestrained force, Yang Guo’s internal injury would flare up.
Yang Guo was worried that Huang Rong would ask about this further and see through this so he quickly replied, “I’m fine…I’m fine.” He changed the subject immediately and said, “Uncle Guo, the kung fu that you used to fly up the city wall was excellent, there isn’t another who can match that in the world of Wulin.”
Guo Jing gave a little smile and said, “I learned this kung fu a long time ago and haven’t practiced it for years; I’m a little rusty with it and that was why I ran into a bit of trouble.” In actual fact, if he hadn’t used his chi and internal energy to help Yang Guo protect his ‘dan tian’ last night, he would have been able to fly up the city wall using the “Stairs to Heaven” technique even with Jinlun Fawang’s interference. Naturally, he didn’t mention this and said, “Years ago in Mongolia, the Red Sun Elder Ma taught me this skill; who would have thought that I would have to use it today. If you like this skill I’ll teach it to you in a few days time.”
